InsertWe are said to be very touchy-feely and I think that that shows in all our daily interactions. Foreigners are definitely uncomfortable, some at least, for example we do a lot of kissing and it goes to the extent that, for example, if you go into the surgery to see your GP or doctor that you are familiar with, and that knows you, you would probably reach out and kiss him or her, and that's completely normal.

ምህረትSo, what do you think about this አርጄንቲና እንደዚያ ነበረች?

PhilYes, absolutely, people are very touchy-feely – lots of hugging and people always kiss when they meet.

SamOK, so how did you deal with it being so 'touchy-feely' – I'm not sure that you're that kind of person really Phil….

ምህረትYes, you don't seem the touchy-feely type

PhilGuys, I'm not, I'm really not – every day was like an invasion of my personal space!

ምህረትInvading someone's personal space, is when they think that you have 'invaded' መውረር their space – that sounds like quite a violent expression, doesn't it?

SamIsn't it just friendly though? It's not invading personal space to hug someone when you've just met is it? Otherwise people will think that you are too 'reserved', especially if you are somewhere where people are more touchy-feely.

ምህረትReserved - ቁጥብ but maybe B is just quite reserved.

PhilI'm English. Of course I'm reserved. It's what we do…

SamOk, but it's not just about what you are like… Obviously, we are all different and we do things in different ways…. But maybe we need to be able to adapt to other people.

PhilWhat do you mean?

SamWell, I think you've just got to be 'tolerant' of other people – I mean you should respect that other people might do things differently and in different ways.

ምህረትYes, I think being tolerant, ቻይ፥ ታጋሽ፥ ሌሎችን ተቀባይ is really important, especially if you go to live in a different country.

SamYes – living in different countries can really show you how important it is to be tolerant… like being tolerant of the way people treat personal space, for example.

Meaning & Use

touchy-feely (adjective)

Touchy-feely describes a person who feels comfortable making physical contact with other people. It can also be used to describe people who display their emotions openly.She was very touchy-feely and always hugged the people she met.His children were very touchy-feely and liked to jump on him when they were playing.Everyone in the group was very touchy-feely and it made her uncomfortable.

invade personal space (verb)

If someone is in your personal space, it means that they are so close to you that you feel uncomfortable. If someone invades someone else's personal space, it means that they make that person uncomfortable by being too close.I hate when she comes so close - it feels like she is invading my personal space.When you meet new people, be careful not to invade their personal space.If you invade someone's personal space, they might not want to help you.

reserved (adjective)

If someone is reserved, it means that they are quiet and do not strongly demonstrate their feelings.You can't tell because he's so reserved, but I'm sure he's very happy at winning the competition.In some cultures it is important to be reserved.She's so reserved, it's hard to tell what she's feeling.

tolerant (adjective)

If someone is tolerant, they can accept things that they may not agree with.I do things quite differently, but everyone has been really tolerant.If you work with a lot of people, you have to be quite tolerant.I had many arguments because the people around me were not very tolerant.

Over to you!

Are you touchy-feely? Are you more reserved? Do you hate it when people invade your personal space? Tell us on our Facebook group.

Join us for our next episode of English Together when we will learn more useful language and practise your listening skills.ተጨማሪ ጠቃሚ አገላለፆችን ለመማር እና የማዳመጥ ክህሎትዎን በመለማመድ ለማዳበር በቀጣዩ እንግሊዝኛን በጋራ ዝግጅታችን ይጠብቁን።